Search form

Search the Blog:

Caroline Knorr

Badges

As Common Sense Media's parenting editor, Caroline helps parents make sense of what’s going on in their kids' media lives. From games to cell phones to movies and more, if you're wondering "what’s the right age for…?" Caroline can help you make the decision that works best for your family. She has more than 20 years of editorial and creative marketing writing experience and has held senior-level positions at Walmart.com, Walmart stores, Cnet, and Bay Area Parent magazine. She specializes in translating complex information into bite-sized chunks to help families make informed choices about what their kids watch, play, read, and do. And she's the proud mom of a teenage son whose media passions include Star Wars, StarCraft, graphic novels, and the radio program This American Life.

Blog Post List

For a fun family-and-friends event, the Super Bowl sure generates a lot of controversy: the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" of 2004, Tom Brady's deflate-gate, and that scary, depressing Nationwide Insurance "dead kid" ad that had parents all over the country covering their kids' eyes. This year, with brewing disputes about protesting the national anthem, football and concussions, player arrests, and accusations of sexual harassment , the Big Game promises to bring up serious issues that aren't necessarily age-appropriate for the show's youngest viewers. Of course, there will be plenty of good...

Every parent wants to raise a kid with a conscience -- someone who'll do the right thing even when no one is watching. But when the road to online integrity is riddled with cyberbullying , cell phone cheating , sexting , and other risks, trusting your kid to be conscientious feels like a leap of faith. Here's the good news: Studies show that kids actually have a strong grasp of right and wrong as early as the toddler years, and parents have a huge influence on what kids learn about how to behave. The parenting you've been doing -- role-modeling, keeping the lines of communication open, and...

Fake news has gotten a lot of attention . Even the term has earned several definitions. The quantity and types of news sources in the digital age have made it more challenging to determine what's real and what's fake. Reputable news outlets adhere to a code of ethical standards that ensures that what's being reported is true to the best of their knowledge. They publish their codes of ethics and standards on their websites. You can read the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics to get a sense of the rules reporters must follow. Of course, a lot of times, figuring out what's real...

If there's one thing nearly every parent wants to get better at, it's staying ahead of their kids when it comes to media and technology. From crazy YouTube videos to marathon Minecraft sessions to sexy selfies , kids are constantly testing the limits (and our patience) with new stuff they want to download, watch, and play. Even as we encourage our kids to use their devices for good (homework, making things, learning stuff), we still butt heads over safety , screen time , age-appropriate content, and the importance of making eye contact instead of staring at your screen when a human being is...

"Mommy, what's sexual harassment?" You were hoping that the daily news reports of famous and powerful men being accused of sexual misconduct would fly right past your kid's radar. But like other unfortunate events you've had to explain far before your kid was ready , the news -- especially bad news -- has a way of seeping into their world. And now you're stuck: How do you talk about sexual harassment if you haven't even talked about sex? Take one topic at a time. Try tackling the news and the sex angles separately. Young children have a hard time understanding abstract concepts. But you can...

Behind the apps, games, and social media is a whole crew of folks whose job is to make their products feel essential. Many of the techniques they use are ones outlined by experts in human behavior, including Nir Eyal author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and BJ Fogg of Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab. Harris argues that these methods "hijack" our own good judgment. Most teens care deeply about peer validation, for example. So it makes sense that friends' feedback on social media -- both the positive and the negative -- would tug at you until you satisfy your curiosity. You have a phone in your pocket, so why not check now? And now. And now?

In 1975, there was one song every kid knew by heart: "Two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun." By any measure, it was a viral success. Companies still use tweens and teens to do their marketing for them. And today's youth marketing methods still focus on activities kids love, such as sending funny GIFs, watching YouTube, and applying cool Snapchat filters. But yesterday's Big Mac song is today's big data grab: The information trail your kids leave behind online equals big bucks for companies . You'll only find out what you're giving up by reading...

No matter how old your kids are, threatening or upsetting news can affect them emotionally. Many can feel worried, frightened, angry, or even guilty. And these anxious feelings can last long after the news event is over. So what can you do as a parent to help your kids deal with all this information?

If you're raising kids today, it can be easy to focus on the negative. And it's no wonder: Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle, social media, cell phone notifications -- and even sources you wouldn't expect, like Instagram and YouTube -- kids are immersed in doom and gloom . Consider their world: The suicide rate is up , cyberbullying is rampant, the United States is more divided than ever, and people are now live-streaming murder and suicide. So it's understandable if you don't feel like putting on a happy face every day and keeping your kids optimistic about the future. But don't give up...